Job Headlines Paint False Rosy Picture

Headlines released after a better than expected jobs report painted a very optimistic picture. Bloomberg’s headline read “Recession Concerns Ease on August Jobs Data.” The story said, “Companies in the U.S. added more jobs than forecast in August, easing concern the world’s largest economy is sliding back into a recession. Private payrolls climbed 67,000 after a revised 107,000 increase in July that was more than initially estimated, Labor Department figures in Washington showed today. The unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent as more people looked for work.” (Click here for the entire Bloomberg report.) Even though the official government unemployment rate inched up to 9.6% and 54,000 people lost their jobs, this jobs report was spun as some sort of ground breaking good news. Market Watch had a similar take with its Friday headline, “U.S. stock futures jump as Wall Street relieved by jobs report.” (Click here for that story.) It looks like thoughts of the economy slipping back into a double dip recession are over if all you read are stories like these. Somebody should tell former Clinton Administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich of the great news on jobs. On Friday (the same day the better than expected jobs report was released), he said on CNBC, “I don’t see how anyone could think this is headed in the right direction.” Reich also said the jobs picture “is worse than it was a year ago and worse than it was a month ago.” This is why Reich is advocating the government start new stimulus programs and calls this Labor Day “. . . the worst Labor Day in the memory of most Americans.” I don’t think Reich believes we are out of the woods as far as the economy goes. On his blog he says, “We might consider, for example, extending the earned income tax credit all the way up through the middle class, and paying for it with a tax on carbon.” (Click here to go to Reich’s blog.) I’m not sure giving more money away and a brand new tax is the answer to the spiraling economy. I do agree with Mr. Reich that things are getting worse. One thing is for sure, the President and his party are running scared on the jobs front. That’s why the President announced he will be making big new economic initiatives this coming week. According to Reuters, the President said Saturday, “The steps we have taken to date have stopped the bleeding. . . Other steps, he said, were aimed at helping the middle class. . .” (Click here for the complete Reuter’s story.) The Labor Secretary, Hilda L. Solis, said last week, “There are jobs out there. And, this Labor Day — and every day — I’m going to continue helping people find them and employers fill them.” Where are these jobs? It looks like the employment picture is so bleak it’s come to making preposterous statements about jobs that do not exist. (Click here for the Solis statement on the August jobs report.) According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, it is much worse than any government numbers show. In his latest report, actual unemployment rose to 22%. That’s right, 22%, more than double the “official” 9.6% rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are real unemployed people. This is another government statistical scam designed to deceive people into thinking things are better than they are in the real world. What is galling to me is the mainstream media repeats these statistical lies by the government unquestioned month after month. Economist John Williams explains how the government gets away with being so removed from reality. He says, ”In 1994, during the Clinton Administration, “discouraged workers” — those who had given up looking for a job because there were no jobs to be had — were redefined so as to be counted only if they had been “discouraged” for less than a year. This time qualification defined away the long-term discouraged workers. The remaining short-term discouraged workers (less than one year) are included in U.6.” U6, by the way, rose to 16.7% in the latest jobs report. Simply put, if someone is out of work for more than a year, they are no longer counted in any government unemployment statistics. Don’t expect the unemployment rate to start going down in the foreseeable future. Williams says, “. . . sharp upside movements in the unemployment rate remain likely in the months ahead . . .” Abraham Lincoln supposedly said, “How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” Likewise, saying there “jobs out there,” or that less than 1 in 10 (9.6%) is out of a job, doesn’t make it so. Just ask the 15 million unemployed Americans looking for work.

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Greg Hunter

Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.

Very good article. Again, as you continually do, mainstream media outlets cannot report the real story as they are controlled by Management of Perspective Economics (MOPE). Basic review of economics and financial indicators clearly show the poor health of U.S. economy and the legs are just not there. It is very difficult to further spin the data any further. Keep up the excellent analysis.

Yes, Greg. You are right once again. Spin, spin spin. Then, spins some more. And this morning, the President is calling for major road, rail and runway spending, to the tune of $50 billion. Ummmmm …. let’s see??????? Wonder where that money will be coming from. Insanity at its extreme.

I was on vacation last week and missed your story on Ground Zero Mosque controversery. I have now had time to read it. I have followed you for a long time and have marveled at your vision, but you are wrong on this one.

I too am for religious freedom. But there are millions of us out here that do not believe that Islam is a religion. It isn’t a religion …. it is a way of life. How can a “religion” treat women the way that Islam treats women. Islam professes that we Christians either convert to Islam, or be killed. Not much hope for me, I guess.

Yes, I too believe in the Constitution of this great country. That’s why those perverts need to build their mosque out in the desert …. or maybe the ocean.

Some people have jobs some people don’t. The 70s weren’t so great maybe 10% out of work. I think the people in the 70s were not in debt like the people now. I didn’t have a credit card back then, we thought people with credit card were living above there means. Like my parents said if you want a washing machine, save up some money an pay cash. Another thing is all these people who claim to be bankrupt, a man would be ashamed to go down that path not so long ago. It’s not a lack of jobs but a lack of morals an back bone in this country. Life is simple, if your hungry kill something an eat it. PEACE

If the American populace continues to digest the “Official Unemployment Numbers” put out by the government, what does this say about the IQ level of our citizens?

My wife has been out of work for six months. She is collecting unemployment benefits, has gone back to school to obtain her Bachelor’s and continues to send out resume after resume to get back into the fray.

I dare to say that if most of us ask the man/woman on the street about job prospects their answer would be “dismal”.

Our current administration, that claimed it would be transparent, is practicing the same BS that all previous admins (R & D) have done.

What would happen if the government went retro and reported the “true numbers”. Are they afraid of riot’s in the streets? Wouldn’t they be better off by stimulating the engine that actually creates jobs?

I’m speaking for the private sector, via small businesses. I work for one of those. My employer has started with four people three years ago. We are now at 12 full time employees who work 40+ hours per week. That was done in spite of any government stimulus.

My employer has a market that could allow him to expand exponentially but he, like many others, is taking a wait and see stance in regards to taxes, health care reform, the 1099 fiasco and any other regulations that may affect our company in the near future.

The folks in Washington should get out of the way of progress and let the folks on Main Street use their talents to help heal our economy.

Millions will be dumped into the already overcrowded community college system. Two plus years will be needed to get a degree in green technology. I don’t see how this will help. It would be better to give companies grants to hire and train. I’m old enough to remember on-the-job-training. I grew up in a mill town, there was no community college to train workers, older workers trained the young workers. Many young men earned good wages working at the local mills.

I’ve always been taught, and I do believe, that a ‘religion’ is man’s various ways of reaching out to God (any god). In Islam’s instance, Allah, the historical Moon God of the Canaanite peoples of long ago. That would, IMHO, make Islam a ‘religion’.

In contrast, Christianity is God (YHWH) reaching down to man, since man has no capability of reaching up to Him.

I agree with Reich…this was a lousy Labor Day. Matter of fact, it felt inappropriate to be celebrating it since so many are out of work. According to John Williams of the Shadowstats website, the actual national unemployment rate is between 17-20%. Williams cites the rate is being kept low because 10% unemployment is politically ugly for an American President.

This all nothing more than MOPE, Managment Of Perception Economics. The economy needs to add 150,000 jobs a moth just to stay even and were supposed to beleive “only” losing 54,000 jobs is good news? There might have been a time when they could have sold this tripe, but those days are long gone. Does anybody thing gold closing at an all time high today was just some coincidence? Or that the Yen rising to a 15 year high against the Dollar is just some anomolly? Perhaps in never never land but not in any real world.

The politicians have set the ship of state on a collision course with an iceberg. Half the passengers are leaning over the rails screaming to the Captain to change course, the other half are either to self-absorbed to notice or think the Captain is doing the right thing. It won’t matter now even if the wheel is thrown over hard. The cold waters of 16.7% real unemployment and decades of job exportation have embrittled the hull plates and even a glanceing blow will split them open. Perhaps the rush of cold reasity will wake some more people up, but just as with the real Titanic, there aren’t enough life boats. Lives will be destroyed and lost before the Carpathia arrives on the scene.

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Greg is the producer and creator of Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin.

USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.